Bravely Return
by FiesiMcFies
Summary: SPOILERS ALERT. The story takes place 5 months after closing the Grand Chasm. I don't want to say too much, but be prepared for Edea, an (un)wanted guard, some fluffy stuff and an adventure in Florem.
1. Prologue

**Bravely Return**

_Disclaimer: I do not own Bravely Default or any characters in this story._

_Note: Don't read until you finished the game because there are massive spoilers ahead. The story might develope a bit slowly, but don't worry - there is romance in it. Please R&amp;R :)_

**Prologue**

Am I ... home?, he thought when the airship got closer to the ground. His hands, clenched around the airship's railing, were shaking, sweating. He prayed he finally made the right decision, although there wasn't much left to do wrong.

"I won't tell her", a deep voice behind him said. "But try to hurt her once and I promise you, you will never see this world nor any other ever again."

Wandering the empty corridors of Eternia's Central Command felt strange, now that everyone was gone. She missed talking to Einheria who had always known about the newest Sky Knights' gossip. She missed it nearly as much as training with Master Kamiizumi. But those two were dead, just like the dark knight Alternis Dim. Though it was not the Alternis from her world she wanted back, it was the one she never could call Alternis because he was so different, and who had chosen to go back into his own world. That had happened so fast, she had only realized it after the pillar of light had vanished and former Mr Amnesia had been gone.

Five month had passed after they had defeated Ouroboros. She should have been happy that they finally had saved the world - no, worlds - but she wasn't. The group of friends who had become so dear to her over the time had shattered too quickly, and as if Ringabel leaving wasn't bad enough, Tiz fell into a coma. Only the medical powers of Eternia's healing towers were keeping him alive, but Edea couldn't bear seeing him in his miserable state. She felt horrible for not visiting him everytime she went there to see her mother, but she just couldn't. She put herself on the 'darkest black list' whenever she avoided visiting her friend and tried to keep herself busy. Luckily there was much to do. The world may have been saved, the Grand Chasm closed, but things were far from being back at normalcy.

Having lost many strong warriors, her father, Grand Marshal Braev Lee, was struggling to find acceptable replacements. There were many sky knights left, but only the young ones or those with lack of talents who were content staying at lower ranks forever. There were only two high-ranked members of Eternia's sky knights left - White Mage Holly and Barras, the definetely not abstemious monk. Their continual squabbles sometimes helped to lighten up Edea's mood, but most of the time she found it annoying. The previous evening Barras moved to a very black list thanks to some dirty jokes he made while being totally drunk. But still Edea was glad it were these two who survived, it could have been worse. Victor and Victoria, for example.

"Miss Edea", a young man clad in sky knight armor greeted her, head deeply bowed. She could never remeber his name, but what she recognized about him was his overdone courteousness.

"Stop calling me 'Miss'", she told him for the hundredth time. After the events around awakening the crystals, including becoming a deserter and betraying her father, she didn't feel like deserving any courtsies. She missed the jauntiness of being surrounded by friends who didn't care about titles and ranks.

"Excuse me, Mylady." He finally stopped bowing his head and his flushed cheeks became visible. Edea was tempted to tease him to see how red his face could get, but then she reminded herself that she hated men. Moreover, her father's soldiers had dwindled to a frightening number and she didn't want to risk that another warrior was going to flee into another world because she teased him too much.

She scolded herself for that stupid thought. Of course it wasn't her fault _he_ went away. And she understood why he had to return to his real home. At least she tried to.

"What is it?", she asked when she saw the young sky knight was still looking at her as if he had something to say. Her voice was more rude than intended.

"I, uhm ... I don't mean to bother you, Miss, but I wondered-"

"Get to the point", she sighed, eager to get to the training room as soon as possible. She wanted to work on her Spellfencer abilities today.

"I wondered if someone told you that the Grand Marshal's airship has just arrived. But you certainly know this already, Mylady, since he is your father and-"

"Father is back?", she happily shouted. Knocking the sky knight aside, she ran towards Central Command's entrance hall.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1  
**

Braev Lee had been gone for some weeks to look for new recruts in Florem and Ancheim. People who could become new members of the Council of Six. Now that he had returned, Edea was eager to know what he had to tell.

"Did you find what you were looking for?", she asked him, shoving a huge bit of her piece of cake into her mouth. Her father who was sitting across from her at the dining room's table, had a horrified look on his face.

"Can't you have a proper dinner? I asked Holly to cook healthy meals, and I don't consider _this_ to be healthy." He furrowed his brows.

"What's wrong with cake?", she said with her mouth still full. There had been a time when she would had never dared to talk to him like this, but knowing she had become as good with the Templar's asterisk as the Grand Marshal changed things.

"You cannot only eat sweets", he sighed. "I thought you were old enough to know that. But to come back to your previous question: In Florem, I found a girl with promising fighting skills, and in the deserts around Ancheim I prevented two orphans from becoming thieves and offered them a new home and place with the sky knights. Maybe one of them will make it to the Council one day, who knows?" He didn't sound unhappy though Edea doubted hardly a handfull of new recrutes were worth the journey.

"Did you meet Agnès?" she asked. His report had brought back memories of a sandy city, the ticking of a huge clock and delicious ice cream.

"I did meet the Vestal", he nodded, watching her through thoughtful eyes.

"Really? What did she say? How is she going?"

"Why don't you ask her yourself?"

"You brought her with you?", she asked, hopes up. The wind vestal was the only friend she had left, and she didn't see her for some time.

"She's not here yet, but she will come to Eternia in a few days to look after the Earth Crystal. You two will have enough time to talk, then."

That's so good to hear, she thought. A smile started to raise up the corners of her mouth, a rare thing to happen after the fight with Ouroboros. Nightmares of really ugly butterflies and crushing worlds were still haunting her.

She took her now empty plate and stood up from the wooden table. In order to finish their conversation, she said: "Do you think those three new sky knights were worth travelling through Luxendarc?"

"Every sky knight is worth it right now. You can get an idea of their potential yourself when you take care of one of their sword fighting lessons next week."

"Me?", she asked, both surprised and honored. "I am not sure I can-"

"You were one of Kamiizumi's best disciplines. I expect you to carry on his legacy."

"It is a great honor", she nodded. The plate in her hands was shaking heavily. Turning towards the dining room's door, she added: "Good night, father."

"Wait, Edea. One last thing. I did not brought three but four new warriors to Eternia. The fourth one certainly is more skilled and trained as the others, and you will not like what I have to tell you. His purpose is being your guard. More dangerous creatures are wandering through the north now that DeRosso's castle is deserted and you cannot walk around unprotected."

"A _guard_? You've got to be kidding me!" Anger and disappointment crept up her chest. "I am capable of teaching others how to yield a sword, but on the other hand you think I am still a weak little girl who needs protection? Ask your guard to watch over Holly, he can protect her from Barras' sharking, I can take care of myself." Without waiting to her her father's answer, she stomped away, head smoking.

The next morning, Edea was about to get dressed. Before she got in her regular clothes, she tried on the Bravo Bikini. She wanted to see if Sage Yulyana's masterpiece fit her after all the sweets she consumed during the past months. Who needs a scale when you have the Bravo Bikini?, she thought. Seeing her image in the mirror reminded her of Florem, the beauty contest, good old times.

An unwanted knock on the door ripped her out of her thoughts. Before she could protest, the door swung open. Why would someone knock but than open the door, anyways?

"Get out!", she screamed, putting her hands to her hips. A knight she had never seen before entered her room, nevertheless. He wore silverblue armor that covered his whole body; not a single piece of skin could be seen through it. His face was perfectly hidden behind a helmet that matched his armor.

"Let me introduce myself. I will be your loyal guard from now on. Do not fear any danger, never will I leave your side. If you feel unwell, do not hesitate to call me." His voice was muffled and metallic behind the helmet.

"And how am I supposed to call you?" She didn't know where to put her hands to cover her body, so she left them at her hips. Nonetheless she felt uncomfortable because she could feel his intense gaze, even though his eyes were invisible to her.

"Do not bother trying to memorise my name. Calling me Guard will do."

"Fine, _Guard_. I already told my father I don't need protection. I am about to show you my strengh if you continue staying in my room. It's going to hurt. A lot. In case you haven't notice, I was about to get dressed."

"Oh, good to hear. I was afraid you were going to wear the- this", he abruptly finished his sentence, gesturing at her.

"You don't like the Bravo Bikini?" She narrowed her eyes, well aware of the fact that there was no good answer to her question. He then surprised her by choosing the worst of all possibilities: "I do like it, I only think it does not have the right size ..."

"WHAT?" Enough was enough. She didn't need a guard, especially not one who was calling her fat. Who did he think he was? "Get out before I forget myself." Her eyes were blazing with anger and she was to ready to throw herself against him, but luckily for him he finally decided to go.

"If you need help, just tell me. I will be waiting outside", he promised, sounding amused. Edea slammed the door and decided to climb out of the window in order to escape her watchdog. Hopefully that would get him fired before his watch began. She didn't feel pity. Edea Lee didn't need a guard!


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"I forgot how cold Eternia was", Agnès admitted. The two girls were walking along a snowy path that would eventually lead them to the town of Eternia. Edea's guard silently followed them. After she had managed to get rid of him on the first day, her father had scolded her in such a frightening way that she didn't dare to climb out of her window ever again. She tried to ignore the guard instead, though not always successfully.

"You can have _his_ armor", she suggested. "As far as I understood, this guard is here to keep me safe and happy, and I don't feel well knowing that my friend is freeezing."

"Unacceptable." Agnès violently shook her head. "I don't need his armor, but thank you for your concern. Say, how is Tiz? Has there been any change to his health? Will he awaken soon?"

"Uhm-" Edea bit her lip. How was she supposed to explain that she never visited him?

"Tiz?", the guard suddenly asked. "I thought you wanted to visit your mother?"

"This is none of your business", Edea snapped back. Turning around, she saw him clench his fists, but before she could make a comment on this, she heard Agnès scream. The knight dashed past her towards an icy monster that had appeared infront of the group without warning. It vanished as quickly, thanks to the guard's fast reaction and his swift sword thrusts.

"Not bad", she had to admit. "Although we could have taken care of it ourselves."

"No need to get your hands dirty, ladies", he answered before the group returned their march to Eternia's Healing tower.

"I am a horrible friend", Edea whispered to herself. After saying Hello to her mother, they went to see Tiz, but like uncountable times before, Edea again couldn't make it. She wanted to keep alive her memories of a Tiz who was always concerned, warm-hearted, full of life, instead of replacing the picture with whatever was waiting behind the doors Agnès had just silently closed behind her.

The wind vestal had shown no sign of anger or disappointment. If anything, she even seemed to understand Edea, but the blonde girl was still afraid to be thought of someone who abandoned a friend.

"I heard you and three of your friends saved this world", her guard said. Edea flinched. She almost forgot he was there. Without waiting for her answer, he continued: "I take it Tiz was one of these friends? Why is he here now?"

"If we knew, we would do everything to help him", she growled. "The thing is, we don't know. He was found lying on the ground, barely alive. There was no sign of him being sick and the White mages could not find any evidence of illness."

"How strange", he mumbled. "Nevertheless, I can insure you you are everything but a horrible friend. You being here in the White tower is what counts. I am positive your friend can feel your presence, whether you are inside or outside this room."

"You seem to know a lot about friendship", she said after some time.

"No", he answered grimly. "But I know a lot about being a horrible friend."

"Is that so?" She mustered him with curiosity. "Too bad, you nearly made it to my 'pure white list'."

Then the doors to Tiz' room swung open. Edea hurried to hug Agnès who looked unbearably sad. Tears were glittering in the corners of her large, dark eyes.

"If there was anything we could do for him", the vestal sobbed.

"I am sure the White mages here do the best they can", the guard said with an unreadable voice. "It is already getting dark outside. I suggest we stay at the inn."

"First we need to get something to eat." Edea was desperate to lighten up the mood or change the topic, at least. "I'm starving, but luckily I know a place where they have the best ice cream in Luxendarc. I swear."

"Ice cream?" Agnès raised an eyebrow, sounding doubtful.

When Edea woke up the next morning, she saw that Agnès was still asleep. The girls were sharing a small room at Eternia's inn and Edea had been surprised her guard hadn't insisted to sleep on the floor in case someone tried to murder the girls in the night. In fact, he seemed content to have his own room. Too bad. Edea got curious what was hidden beneath the guard's armor. He never took off his helmet, which was why she came to the conclusion he had to have a really ugly face.

Trying not to wake the wind vestal, Edea silently climbed out of her bed, grabbed her clothes and tiptoed out of the room. Then she headed for the only bathroom the inn offered, only to find it locked.

"Hurry up in there." She knocked against the door several times.

"Go away." Edea stumbled over the sound of his voice. Folding her arms, she said: "Remember how often I told you to go because I don't need a guard? And when exactly did you listen to me? Never. That's why I will wait until I can use the bathroom."

"I recommend you wait in your room instead. I ... forgot to bring my clothes and you shouldn't-"

"I've seen lots of naked men", she lied, keeping her place next to the bathroom's door. Finally she had the chance to see how her guard looked like, of course she wouldn't just leave.

There was no answer from inside the bathroom, but after a few minutes the doorknob moved. The door was teared open and the person she assumed was her guard bolted out of there, leaving a cloud of watery steam behind. A towel was wrapped around his hips, another around his head that was bent over as if he pretended to rub his hair dry. That way it was impossible for her to see his face. What she did see was pale skin stretching over a toned stomach. But of course he was muscled, she didn't expect anything else from someone who had proven his fighting skills.

Shaking her head over his ridiculous attempt to hide his face, she entered the bathroom and closed the door.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The hours she spent with Agnès passed too quickly, and soon came the day the wind vestal had to return to Ancheim. The nights that followed their parting were filled with nightmares.

This is not the happy ending we deserved, she thought, not for the first time, after awakening from a dream in which she had to battle Gigas Lich again, but this time without her friends. Alone she didn't stand a chance against the monster. The moment she was devoured by darkness was the moment she finally woke up. Sweat covered her body; her nightgown that reached down to her knees clung to her back. Her hair was a mess, her breath heavy. Only hot chocolate could help in this situation, she decided and tapped out of her room. She intended to head for the kitchen when she heard footsteps coming closer. Intuitively she pressed herself against the cold stones of the wall and carefully peered around the corner.

Her breath paused, and for a moment she thought she was still dreaming. The fact that the person, dressed in black pyjama trousers, was walking over to the room closest to her own meant he was her guard. That was the only thing she was able to logically explain. From the distance she couldn't identify details of his face, but even in the dim light of the corridor she could tell that his hair was of a pale blond colour. It was rather messy, though the shape of a pompadour was recognizable.

If this was a joke, it was the worst she had ever heard. Hot tears began to burn in her blue eyes, but she fought them off. Silently she turned around, but instead of going to the kitchen she went for the training hall. Only practicing with a sword had the chance to help her clear her mind.

Why did he come back?, she thought, biting her lip. Even if it was him, his trying to deceive her by hiding his identity was unforgivable. "Just call me Guard" he had said. Thinking of it made her slap her forehead. She should have known who he was from the very beginning. No sane man would dare to comment on the Bravo Bikini the way he did. If he really decoyed her the whole time, he would immidiately be put on the 'black as the hole that replaces Ouroboros' heart list'. And there was no way to get off of that list.

It was relieving she didn't need protection inside Central Command's walls. She trained until noon, then her muscles began to ache and her stomach started protesting since she skipped breakfast. Another reason for her to leave the training room as fast as possible was that Barras and Holly bursted through the door, being caught up in a senseless squarrel as usual.

"You can't train this Ancheim boy how to use the monk asterisk", Holly said, determined. "He's afraid of punching people, becoming a good monk is impossible for him. I should teach him how to use white magic, instead."

"What a feeble excuse!", Barras roared. Both of them didn't seem to have noticed Edea yet. "I noticed the way you look at that lad. Just admit it! You want to have him for yourself!"

"That is the most idiotic thing you said in a long time, blockhead. You should know I'm not interested in young boys like him. It's the older, stronger, louder men I like." Holly snuggled against Barras' chest, purring like a cat. Edea didn't want to see anything more.

"Geez. Go get a room." She stomped her foot on the ground. "And please turn down the volume. Your bickering is annoying as hell."

"What are you doing here?" Barras turned around in surprise. "And why are you still in your sleeping clothes?"

"Did you sleep in here?" Holly narrowed her eyes. "The Grand Marshal already got mad about you eating cake, he won't be happy about this."

"Then don't tell him." Edea marched out of the room. Overhearing Holly's and Barras' previous converastion got her an idea.

Later that day, she was rummaging around her cosmetics. She was wearing her casual clothes and her trademark red bow tie, and a soft, white woolen coat with a furred hood was lying on the stool beside her. Her eyes, looking back at her from the mirror, were already huge from mascara and eye liner. The only thing left to do was to put on some lipstick.

"There it is." Triumphantly she grabbed the lipstick she was looking for. It had a deep red colour and she never thought she would use it one day. After painting her lips, she took one last glance into the mirror. Pleased with her work she took her coat and opened her room's door. Her guard was waiting outside, arms folded.

"Where are you going?", he wanted to know. Despite his helmet she knew he was examining her.

"I'm on my way to the town. Please don't follow me, that would be too embarassing." Time for some drama. She didn't train with the Performer asterisk many times but she had a feeling her acting skills weren't that bad. After all she managed to trick the red, old man back in Florem - before he used his creepy parfume on her.

"Embarassing? Why?" The guard moved closer, still watching her.

"You know, it's some sort of a personal matter. Please promise you won't tell Father. I'm going to town for a date", she lied, disappointed she couldn't see his face behind the helmet.

"A date? With another man?" He sounded pourly horrified, just as she had expected. Oh, sweet revenge, she hummed inside of her head.

"No, with a penguin. Of course with a man. We're going to have a nice dinner in an expensive restaurant. I wonder what kind of dessert they serve ..." Don't overdo it, she had to tell herself.

"You can't go", he simply said and took another step towards her which forced her to move backwards, back into her room. She didn't object when he closed the door behind them. There was no date for her to miss, anyways.

"And who are you to stop me?", she asked, putting her hands to her hips.

"Your guard. And I say it's too dangerous outside for you to go on your own. It will be dark long before you can get back here."

"In that case I am sure I can stay in town. Maybe my date invites me to his house after dinner."

"This is utterly out of the question. You will not get past me - and don't think about climbing out of that window. If it's good dishes you want, I can ask Holly to cook something. Or I can take you to whatever restaurant you want, but you will not go with some-"

"That's it?", she interrupted him. "Do you really think I've waited five damn months for the day you'd come back and ask me out? Why would I let someone take me to a restaurant who once left without any parting words, anyway?"

"I ... have no idea what you are talking about." He stumbled backwards, away from her angry glare. All the rage she managed to surpress last night now rushed back into her heart, her head, her whole body.

"You can stop this charade now", she told him, having troubles keeping her voice low. "I saw you last night, Ringabel." When he said nothing, she continued: "You are not denying it, then?"

"You have to understand-", he started, his voice pleading. She cut him off again: "Take off your helmet."

He slowly obeyed. Suddenly seeing his face caused her heart to ache. There was no doubt. Ringabel had been her guard all the time. How could he deceive her like this?

"Why?" Her voice was shaking to bady, she didn't dare to say any more words.

"I can explain-" But she didn't want to hear any explanation. Seeing him all of the sudden hurt too much. Without thinking, she reached out and slapped him across the face, so hard that a bolt of pain shot through her hand. Before she walked past him to leave the room, she could see the shocked expression on his face. He didn't try to stop her.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

She couldn't tell how she got there, but somehow Edea ended up infront of her mother's room inside the healing tower. Somewhere between Central Command and here her anger vanished, at least most of it. She felt the strong urge to hug her mother and was glad she got here.

Mahzer Lee was sitting on a chair infront of a huge window, framed by afternoon's golden sunlight. Maybe it was just the illumination, but to Edea her mother looked healthier than usual.

"Edea. I didn't expect you to come back so soon." A wide smile spread across the woman's face when she noticed her visitor. She stood up to hug her daughter.

"I just felt like it." Edea tried to avoid her mother's glance of appraisal, but Mahzer had never been one to be fooled easily.

"Tell me what happened. Why do you look so sad? Has your father been too strict?"

"No. Well, he tries to get rid of all the sweets in Central Command, but he will never find my secret hiding places."

"Than what is it?", her mother continued asking.

"You know how much I hate to be lied to. Especially if it's a friend lying into my face. He has always been shameless and bad-mannered, but this time he really capped it all off."

"Oh, so this is about a boy?" Edea got scared of the way her mother's eyes were suddenly shining.

"He's just a friend", she hurried to say.

"As far as I know, friends don't lie to friends without reason. Please let me give you to advices, dear daughter. The first one is that you have to listen to him if he tries to explain himself, even if you don't want to hear any excuses. You are so much like your father in some ways, Edea. And I know that both of you can be stubborn and hotheaded sometimes, especially if somebody angered you. Much could have been prevented if your father had talked to you about the crystals earlier, so don't forget how important it can be to put your pride aside and listen."

"What's the second advice?", Edea asked.

"I suggest we both go for some shopping now. I feel better than usual, and a bit of fresh air cannot be too bad. Besides, I heard that new clothes and shoes are supposed to be the best medicine against lovesickness."

"I am not lovesick", Edea protested. "Nevertheless I'd love to go shopping." Coming here really helps, she thought, handing her mother a light blue coat.

It was late in the evening when she entered Central Command and went for her room, packed with several bags and and boxes. On her way back a few monsters had dared attacking her, but she easily repelled them. She felt more exhausted from going shopping than fighting, though.

Yawning, she walked into her room, only to find someone sitting on her bed.

Get out of here, she wanted to yell, but then she remembered her mother's words. So instead of throwing him out, she said nothing while putting all the bags and boxes to the ground.

"How was your date?", Ringabel asked. She could hear how he failed at trying to sound indifferent. He had changed clothes; instead of armor he now wore his casual outfit.

"There was no date", she answered. "I visited my mother." She took off her coat and carelessly threw it on the floor. Her boots soon followed. After stretching her back, she began to untie her bow and run her fingers through her hair. She felt too tired to argue with Ringabel.

"That's good to hear." He turned his gaze away from her and looked out of the window. She stayed standing in the middle of her room, indecisively. "Edea, I am deeply sorry for not telling you the truth. When I returned to this world, I wanted to figure out if I belonged here, or if I was making a fool out of myself, being driven by desperation of not knowing who I am now. I meant to see it for myself instead of having somebody tell me whether it was the right decision or not."

"Why did you come back in the first place?" Edea slowly moved over to her bed, seating herself at the very end of it. Hearing Ringabel sounding honestly sad made her anger instantly disappear.

"I am not Alternis Dim anymore." He locked eyes with her. "I couldn't fill that role back in the world where I was born. Losing my memories, travelling through Luxendarc as a totally different person and fighting Ouroboros changed me. It was simply impossible to try being the Dark Knight again. Everytime I made a joke or complimented beautiful women, everyone would look at me as if I had a second set of eyes growing out of my forehead. Tell me, how can I call a world in which I could not be myself home? When I realized how a monstrous mistake leaving this world was, I didn't think there was any chance of returning here. I went to see Sage Yulyana for some advice. He offered to delete my memories of me being Ringabel, but I refused. Getting the chance to become different than the Dark Knight who was lacking a sense of humor honestly was the best thing that could have happened to me. Luckily the sage knew a way to open a small portal through worlds and dimensions, although it was not simple."

"I'm glad you came back", she confessed. "But why returning to Central Command? This was the home of Alternis Dim. Shouldn't you go to Florem where the skirts are shorter and more fun to chase?"

"I told you once before, I stopped flirting with women long ago. There is only one girl worth the efforts." He winked at her, being the old pervert again.

"Idiot", she murmured and tried to hide the smile that unwantedly came to her lips.

"Do you know why I feel it was the right thing to come back? It's because you knew who I was. The moment you saw my face, you didn't hesitate to call me Ringabel though I could have been Alternis, as well. I feel like I am truly myself in your presence, please excuse the clichée, but it is true."

I knew it was you because Alternis would never call me fat, she thought, but the look in his pale eyes silenced her. He had philandered and wooed around her several times before, but never had he looked at her like this. His eyelids were half closed, yet his eyes somehow were able to pin her down. He leaned closer, close enough she was able to feel his warm breath tickling over her cheek. Then he paused as if wondering if he really should do whatever he was about to do. The small moment of hesitation was enough for Edea to break her motionlessness.

"Ringabel", she whispered. "It's bad manners, staying at a lady's room around bedtime. Besides, I am tired to death and want to sleep. You should better go now."

"Good night,then." He abruptly pulled away and stood up from her bed. "And sweat dreams."

"You too", she said while watching him leaving her room. What was that?, she thought, heart racing, and buried her face into her pillow.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The next day she was busy teaching her first group of recruts in the art of sword fighting the way Kamiizumi had trained her. It was more tiring than she had expected it to be. Her diciplines basically knew nothing about fighting, and Edea had to watch out for them not to stab each other with the wooden swords they were training with.

"You can't just stand there swinging your sword", she told one of the young diciplines. "Move your whole body; it will increase your strength. Mobility is very important for- geez." She had to jump backwards when another boy's blade bursted into flames.

"I learned to use the Spellfencer's asterisk", he proudly told her. The rest of his wooden sword, ashes now, fell onto the ground.

"Start to use your brain instead of Spellfencer abilities!", she shouted at him and blew a strand of blond hair aside. "All right, pair up again and repeat what you've learned the last thirty minutes. I don't want to see any tears or flames, got that?"

She saw Ringabel after lunch. He was talking to Barras, and she doubted she liked the content of their conversation. Both were not exactly known for being incredibly shy and conservative. Still she was glad to see Ringabel returning to his old self. The intolerably flirtatious self, not the gloomy Dark Knight self. She had worried he had still troubles finding out who he was, who he wanted to be, but seeing him joking around with Barras dispelled her worries.

After listening to her father's plans concerning the sky knights for what felt like ages, she left the Council's meeting room, yawning.

"There she is." Suddenly Holly grabbed her arm and pulled her against her breasts. Edea struggled to get her balance back and heard the White mage say: "Congratiolations on your first lesson. How were the diciplines? Horrible, I fear. Most of the young sky knight recruts are in a pitifull condition."

"I already heard enough of it", Edea sighed. Her ears were still ringing, thanks to the Grand Marshal's neverending monologue.

"Don't worry, sweatheart. I'm not here to talk about politics or our military. Barras reminded me that you never got a proper welcome. You had your first mission as an official sky knight, which went ... different than expected. But you skipped a very important tradition."

"What sort of tradition would that be?" Edea folded her armes and eyed Holly suspiciously.

"It's a secret tradition, well kept by us elders. You too have to know about it. One day you will teach younger generations about this tradition as the future commander of the sky knights."

"Commander?" She raised her eyebrows.

"You are the templar's daughter. One day our beloved duchy will follow your orders, did you forget that?"

"It seems I did, yes." After everything she had done to Eternia in order to help awakening the crystals, she doubted everything would go back to normalcy. Thinking of herself as the the templar's heir was strange.

"As I said before, we can't talk about politics. This evening is reserved for the sky knight's secret tradition, and this tradition means fun, I can promise you that." Holly winked at her, but somehow Edea couldn't trust the woman's definition of fun. Nonetheless she followed Holly into the White mage's room.

"Sit", Holly ordered, leading her to two red couches that were seated around a low table made from dark wood. "Edea, I feel bad it's just the two of us. When I was introduced to this tradition, we had been several young girls. I wish I could be that innocent again." Her gaze drifted away into a long gone past.

"What about men?", Edea asked and slumped down on one of the couches.

"Those filthy men can have their own get-togethers. We women are made from material too fragile and precious; we should not have to endure their filthy presence on a special occasion like this. I know too well how they greet the new sky knights. They make dirty jokes. They fart and they burp. But worst of all, they pass around paintings of naked women." Holly clasped her hands over her mouth. "I shouldn't have told you about it, it's just too nauseating."

"I can take it, don't worry. Where do they get those paintings?"

"There are always men who are more talented in visualizing their fantasies than fighting", the White mage sighed and gracefully sat down on the other couch.

"Wouldn't it be just fair if we had paintings of naked men, then?", Edea giggled for the fun of it. Not that she truly meant it, she just wanted to tease Holly.

"Edea, I am truly shocked. Anyways, this is a good start for our first game. Truth or dare, my dear. Everytime you ask a question, you have to drink." Holly put down a glass infront of Edea. The colorless liquid inside of the glass smelled strong and filled Edea with doubts. But tradition was tradition and she didn't mean to break with it.

"Fine, ask me anything you like", the girl grinned. She had no secrets, ergo nothing to lose.

Two hours later she had one of Holly's white feather boas wrapped around her neck and couldn't even walk straight as she staggered back to her own room. The flickering light if torches blurred her vision even more. She had to support herself on the wall in order to find her way back to her room. Next to her a framed oil painting fell to the ground with a loud roar that echoed in her ears.

"Whoopsie." She took up the painting, astonished how heavy it was. After failing several times at it, she finally managed to put it back to its position on the wall. Relieved she did it, she knelt down and inspected the feathery thing around her neck.

"Why is this painting upside down?"

"It's upside down?", she asked and let her gaze wander up to Ringabel who was observing the wall above her head. "Damn it." She couldn't help the laughter that escaped her mouth, then she reached out one hand to make him help her up.

"Are you all right?" He took her hand without hesitation. Despite his support she tripped and needed to lean her body against his in order not to fall. "You made quite a noise out here."

"I am totally fine", she declared, pointing one finger at him. "Don't take advantage of my current state, you perv."

"You are drunk", he observed and took a step back, his voice sounding horrified and amused at the same time.

"I'm not." She violently shook her head and immediatly felt dizzier than before, if that was even possible. Clumsily she grabbed the front of his jacket to steady herself.

"I think you should go to bed", he said, awkwardly leading her towards her room.

"It's too early for bed", she resisted, digging her heels into the ground. "Please come with me."

"Into your bed?" Now he sounded deeply shocked.

"No!", she screamed, lightly hitting him against the chest. "I told you not to take any advantages. I just thought we could talk for some minutes, we haven't seen each other the whole day."

"I promise I'll see you tomorrow right before breakfast and we can talk as long as you want, my dearest Edea. But right now-"

"Come." She grabbed him by the wrist, forcing him into her room. Then she confessed: "It was Holly who made me drink. We played a game, something about asking stupid questions, but it actually was more fun than I had expected. Did you know Holly was a big fan of Praline?"

"Who isn't?" He shrugged, looking obviously uncomfortable.

"What is it you don't like about me?", she changed the subject while kicking her boots aside and throwing herself onto her bed.

"I like everything about you", he simply said.

"Then why haven't you asked me out yet? You used to try to persuade me so often back when we awakened the crystals."

"And you always rejected me. Maybe I've changed my strategy." His grin instantly vanished when he saw her fumbling at the collar of her dress. "What are you about to do there?"

"Can you help me with that dress? It's so tight, I can't get it over my head."

"No need to undress while I'm still here." Even though he hid his face behind his hands, she could see he was blushing. She cocked her head to one side and curiously asked: "Holly said you pass around paintings of women. Naked women. Did someone tried to picture me, too?"

"Holly lied, I never saw any of those paintings", he objected and put his hands down. "Do not believe everything she says."

"Maybe you couldn't see the pictures through your Dark Knight's helmet", she mused. "Or maybe you forgot about them."

"If there were any of those pictures, I am sure they would have been the first thing for me to remember. And don't say anything about me being perverted now, because you are the one questioning me about nonexistend, innapropriate paintings while trying to undress."

"True that", she nodded. "But you're still a pervert who refuses to help me out of this stupid dress."

"Stop torturing me", he complained. "I would help you right away if it didn't mean you were going to kill me tomorrow morning. And you would make sure it was a slow, painful death."

"Stop talking nonsense", she sighed. Her eyelids suddenly felt heavy, and she had troubles keeping them open. She snuggled herself under the soft, warm fabrics of her blanket and let sleep wash her away.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

A loud sound at her door woke her up, but she refused to open her eyes yet. Her body felt weak, as if its whole energy had been drained. The inside of her mouth tasted disgusting, and for the first time in her life her stomach told her to decline any sorts of sweets.

"Edea, get out of bed. Now!" A merciless someone ripped the curtains beneath her bed open.

"Please no", she murmured and tried to hide her face underneath her pillow. The swift movement sent a stinging pain through her head, and it didn't get better when the pillow was taken away from her.

"If you stay awake for too long, you have to bear the consequences. You are my daughter, one day you will have to represent the duchy of Eternia. I won't allow you to sleep until noon. I hope travelling around with your homeless friends did not change anything about your good education."

They were not homeless, Edea wanted to object, but her headache got worse and worse.

"I am sick", she told her father.

"You haven't been sick for years."

"Well, now I am, thanks for the concern." Her voice sounded awfully rough, and talking didn't really help easing the pain.

"Whatever it is that caused your sickness", Braev Lee said before leaving her room, "I hope you will avoid it in the future." One last, criticising look and he was gone.

You can bet on it, she bitterly thought before rolling herself out of bed. When she got out of her clothes, memories of the previous evening came rushing back at her.

"Oh god, why?" She buried her face in her hands. She couldn't remember every single word but had vivid pieces of her last conversation infront of her eyes. Self-pity and regrets surrounded her until another knock on the door ripped her out of it. She angrily shouted: "Can you please stop the big noise? It hurts."

"Sorry, I should have thought of that." The least person she wanted to see strolled into her room. Luckily she had managed to wrap her blanked around her body fast enough.

"You also should have thought about not walking into a lady's room without permission", she growled, then she furrowed her brows at the sight of Ringabel being in his Dark Knight armor, helmet in his hands. "Why are you wearing this?"

"I like the asterisk, it is pretty strong. Anyway, I wanted to bid farewell to you."

"Wow. You won't go without telling anyone this time. That's incredible." Her headache made her really angry, plus she didn't want Ringabel to think she liked him or something. But then the meanings of his words reached her. "Wait. Where are you going?"

"To Florem, but no worries, I won't be gone for too long. You can invite me into your bed soon again."

"I didn't invite you into my bed!" She clenched her fists. "More importantly, why do you leave? Father just came back from Florem."

"That is exactly why they sent him a note, asking for help. Rumours about women misteriously disappearing from the streets of Florem are spreading, and the Matriarch asked the Grand Marshal to help investigating the issue."

"This sounds like Fiore DeRosa has a hand in it, but it can't be. The Bloodrose Legion is gone ...", Edea mused, pulling the blanket closer to her body. Thinking about the creepy, red man and his sick techniques made her shiver. "When do we leave?"

"We?", Ringabel asked, looking uncomfortable."I fear I will go alone. I won't be in danger if only women are the targets, but you won't be safe in Florem."

"Seriously?" If it weren't for her missing clothes, she would have jumped up in anger. "I helped you before in a similar matter. You can't and you won't make me stay."

"It wasn't me who decided this", he answered, sounding too much like Alternis. "It was your father's instruction. I'll be gone in half an hour; the airship is already waiting at the back of Central Command." He gave her a strange look, then left her room.

Half an hour, she thought, forgetting about her hangover. There wasn't much time left, but she somehow managed to pack her things. Thanks to an asterisk she quickly changed into the spellfencer's outfit and dashed through Central Command's corridors without being seen by anyone.

The airship, looking like a smaller version of the Eschalot, was standing on snowy ground, unguarded. Cold wind blew around the thin fabrics that covered Edea's legs. She shivered, then made a run for the airship.

Only when she felt that the ship was finally liftig up into the air, she dared to leave her hiding place in the stockroom where she was covered by bags full of potatoes and corn.

"I knew you'd come", Ringabel smiled when she climbed on deck and moved towards the wheel from where he was navigating the ship.

"I won't let anyone exclude me from adventures like this", she declared, putting her hands to her hips. The cold wind made it hard for her to keep her stubborn posture.

"Aren't you cold?", he asked as if reading her mind.

"No", she lied. "And you? You are not mad about me hiding below deck?"

"Mad? If anything, I am quite happy about being able to enjoy your lovely company. If the Grand Marshal thinks he can lock you up, he doesn't know you very well. But I couldn't say that back at Grand Central. Your father would have me thrown out of his house for putting you up to go against his orders."

"I hope he won't be too angry at me", she sighed. The cold air made her shiver.

"Go to the sleeping cabin, it's much warmer there", he suggested. "You'll notice when we reach Florem, and you'll have more time to admire me and my awesome looks in the capital."

Just because you enjoy my presence doesn't mean I enjoy yours, perv, she thought and went to hide from the cold inside of the airship.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

They didn't make it to Florem that day. Late in the evening Ringabel landed the ship on the water that divided Caldisla and Florem. An anchor held the ship in its place.

"We should have stayed in Caldisla", Edea complained and wrapped a blanked around her shoulders. She had her legs crossed infront of her, sitting on a rather uncomfortable bed. Unfortunately it was the only bed on the ship. "I wanted to see Egil again."

"You also wanted to reach Florem as fast as possible and asked me to keep going", Ringabel who was now in his pyjama pants reminded her.

"I thoughed we would make it to Florem today."

"I have no intention on flying the whole night, even I need some sleep." He sat down beside her. Thankfully the bed was big enough to leave some space between, but Edea was still not happy about having to share a bed with the worst ladykiller she had ever met.

"Do we have to ..." Instead of finishing the sentence she gestured towards the bed. At least they didn't have to share a blanket which was something.

"You always have the option to sleep between sugar and potatoes."

"Why don't you do it, then?"

"Because I am the one who navigates this ship whereas you are a stowaway. The sooner we sleep now, the sooner we can continue to Florem. Good night, Edea", he said and turned off the last light in the sleeping cabin.

"Good night, Ringabel." She added a warning undertone to her voice. If he dared doing anything stupid, she would immidiately kick him out of bed. Turning her back towards him, she curled herself up on her side of the bed. After some minutes her eyes became accustomed to the darkness. Sleep refused to come and she started to restlessly shift in her sheets. When she turned around, she found that Ringabell was laying on his back, sound asleep.

They had shared rooms before, though Agnès and Tiz had been there, too. And they had never slept in the same bed, which was a totally different thing. Now she boldy leaned forward and closely inspected his face. She couldn't find any imperfections, no pimples, nothing. The only bad thing about him seemed to be the words that came out of his mouth when he was awake. He's more endurable when he's sleeping, she thought and brushed her fingers slightly over the tips of his hair. Strands of hair were falling into his face, the usually perfect pompadour a mess now.

"Like what you see?"

Her heart skipped for a beat when he suddenly opened one eye and looked up at her, obviously amused.

"Stop scaring me like that", she complained, hastily drew her hand back and turned around. Staring at the cabin's blank, wooden wall, she heard him say: "Did you really think I'd fall asleep so fast when being right next to you? Really, Edea, you should have known better."

"I cannot sleep, neither. You are creeping me out", she snapped back.

"You are the one who just got caught staring at me", he reasoned. "But don't be ashamed. Maybe you feel better when I tell you I watched you in your sleep several times before?"

"See, that's exactly what I meant. Creepy", she said. "Hush now, I want to sleep."

"Allright", he answered in a low voice. She felt his fingers wander through the lengths of her hair. The touch, no matter how barely noticeable it was, sent an electric sensation through her body. After taking a deep, unsteady breath, she rolled around. With the swiftness of a trained warrior, she moved on top of him and pinned his wrists down with her hands.

"I told you not to-" She stopped. And then, without thinking, she bent over, closed her eyes and kissed him. Her lips clumsily brushed against his rather than really kissing him and she quickly pulled back before things could become more embarassing.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking", she stuttered and moved back to her side of her bed. Hwas staring at her, eyes wide open, as if he couldn't believe what she just did. Then he awakened from his motionlessness and kissed her back. Softly at first, like he was testing if she allowed it. Then the kisses grew more passionate. By then Edea had already lost control of her actions; her body seemed to move on its own and her mind went blank. Her fingers were playing with his her while she snuggled herself closer into the warmth of his body.

When they broke apart, both heavily breathing, she couldn't tell if minutes or hours had passed. She was wide awake and felt her heart racing inside of her chest. She wished he they could continue kissing forever. If she had known it would feel that good ...

"Edea", he murmured against her lips, letting his hand wander over her shoulder, down her arm, until it rested at her hip. Before he could say anything more, she gently bit down on his lower lip.

"Shut it", she breathed and started kissing him again. Before he returned the kiss she felt him smile against her lips. It was then that her brain rebooted itself.

What are you doing?, it screamed. All the time she had tried to make clear she was not a sitting duck, and now she was basically throwing herself at him? Had she forgotten how much he liked chasing skirts? He might have said he changed, but still she shouldn't make it so easy for him. A flush crept over her cheeks.

"Stop", she whispered. He was leaving a trail of soft kisses on her neck and collarbone but paused now.

"Too much?", he asked, his voice husky. He locked eyes with her. "I am sorry for being too ... bold. It's just ... you make me lose control ..." He sounded serious.

"I think we should try to sleep", she said in a shaky voice. She badly wanted to kiss him again, but something inside her whispered to be careful. "We need to get to Florem as soon as possible."

"You're right", he nodded though he sounded insecure. After he lightly pecked her on the forehead she turned around, leaning her back against his chest. His arms slowly wrapped around her and she felt his unsteady breath at the back of her head. Several minutes passed until he murmured: "Is there any possibility I can ask you out without being rejected now?"

"I don't know", she answered, smiling. "Try to find out tomorrow."

"I will", he promised. She closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Waking up was as awkward as she had expected it to be. She was surprised she had been able to sleep at all, being so close to Ringabel. Carefully she freed herself from his grip and climbed out of bed, longing for fresh air to clear her mind. Despite her attempts to be as silent as possible, he woke up.

"Come back", he murmured, looking at her through half closed eyes. She had to admit he looked kind of cute, being barely awake.

"We have to get to Florem", she said, unsure what to do. Last night confused her and she was angry at herself for having been so thoughtless. What were they now? Still friends? More than friends? Not friends anymore because he finally got a kiss which may have been all he wanted?

"Let me wake up first", he said in a muffled voice and buried his face in his pillow.

"Wake up faster." She folded her arms and wanted to take away his blanket when a sudden idea struck her. She had always liked to tease him, especially after finding out he could dish it out but couldn't take it. After what happened last night she had so many new possibilities to taunt him.

Don't do anything too stupid, she reminded herself and crawled back to bed. Letting one finger wander along his spine, she whispered in his ear: "Shall I help you wake up?"

"What are you doing?", he gasped and turned his head to the side so he could watch her from the corner of his eye.

"Nothing, really." She started to massage his back with both hands and felt the muscles at his shoulder blades tense under her touch. When he abruptly rolled over, sat up and tried to pull her closer, she backed away.

"I have no intentions in staying in bed much longer." She wiggled a finger at him and jumped out of bed again.

"Do you like it? Torturing me like this?" He let a hand wander through his hair and sighed heavily.

"I got you to sit up which is all I ever wanted", she answered. "Now get up and fly this ship to Florem." She turned towards the door to go change her clothes.

"As you wish", she heard him say when she closed the door.

"Are you mad at me?", she asked, standing next to him at the ship's wheel.

"No", he answered, staring into the distance. "I'm thinking."

"About what?"

"Things."

"Things?" Not extremely happy with his answer, she grabbed his wrist. "If you are angry, just say it." She couldn't stand the fact that they were standing there without saying anything for half an hour.

"Why do you think I'd by angry at you? I am thinking about a nice place to go to. With you. Tonight. Going to a restaurant is too ordinary, don't you agree?"

"Why do you think I would agree to this?", she asked and raised her eyebrows.

"You wouldn't?"

"Ask me in a proper way." She sticked her tongue out to him. A confused expression flashed over his face, but then he asked with the usual self-confidence: "Edea Lee, will you finally go out with me?"

"Even though you still have no idea where to go?", she teased him and than sighed with played resignation. "Fine, you'll get one chance. Make something out of it."

"Definetely", he nodded. She felt the urge to hug him, but his black, cold armor wasn't really inviting. At least he didn't wear the helmet; not being able to see his face was weird.

The capital city of Florem was as colourful, loud and busy as always. Edea had the impression that even more women were walking around the city - or were it just less men? Now that she thought about it, there was an unusual small number of men to be seen, even for Florem.

"It's good to have you here", the Matriarch greeted them. Then she lowered her voice: "The missing women have reappeared. And all of their husbands got murdered. There is an unmistakeably pattern no one could ignore. We questioned the women several times, but it seems they can't remeber anything. Neither where they've been nor what happened to their husbands. You see - we can really need your help."

"Murder is a whole different matter than the disappearance of women", Ringabel thought out loud.

"Luckily we've already proven ourselves as detectives", Edea quickly said. "Don't worry, Matriarch. We know what we're doing and we will catch the filthy murderer as soon as possible."

"Very good", the Matriarch nodded. "You must know there were never many married couples around the city. Most of them leave after marriage and settle down in one of the villages near the city where they raise their children. I am not proud of it, but our capital is not the best place for young families. Especially during the last years - and thanks to the Blood Rose Legion's influece - many girls in this city turned out to be extremely superficial and shallow. I pray one day it will be better, now that the Water Crystal has been reawakened, but these murders don't make it look that way.

Maybe it helps you to know that there are only three married couples left around the city. The women haven't disappeared - yet. But I have a bad feeling about this." The Matriarch handed them a list with six names.

"We'll take care of it", Ringabel promised. "Leave it to us, the worried expression does not suit your beautiful face."

"Ringabel", Edea hissed and shot him an angry glare. The Matriarch just laughed and waved her hand at them. When she was gone, Edea asked: "Did you really have to say that? You really are a bad example of Eternian knights."

"Jealous?", he grinned.

"Not in the least." She grabbed the list. "Let's find these people and observe them."


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Two women from the Matriarch's list were nowhere to be found, but the third one and all of the men seemed to be all right. Ringabel and Edea had parted to search the city on their own. They had gotten detailed descriptions of the missing women, given by their husbands who had no idea what had happened to other husbands of previously missing women. Now some of Florem's guards were observing the men for their own safety.

"Can I have a word with you?" Suddenly, a cloaked woman grabbed Edea by the arm. When she lowered her hood, blue hair and a sad face were exposed. Somehow Edea felt she had seen the woman before, though she couldn't tell where.

"What is it?", she asked impatiently. The blue-haired woman didn't look like the ones she was searching for.

"I had the impression you are looking for someone. Your boyfriend, probably?"

"What? No." Edea crossed her arms. For some reason the other woman's presence made her feel uneasy. Maybe it was the strong parfume floating around her like a cloud. Sometimes less is more, she thought and wrinkled her nose. "I have no boyfriend."

"I beg your pardon, I must be mistaken. I saw you with a young knight earlier that day, but of course he is not your boyfriend. If he was, he wouldn't philander around every woman in this city, right?"

"He's doing what?" Edea grinded her teeth.

"I know boys like him", the strange woman nodded. "They can't be trusted. At first they try to make you fall for them, only to turn you into a weapon afterwards. But we women can do the same thing. Let me show something to you." The blue-haired woman reached for her cloak's pockets and pulled out a sparkling necklace. "Wear this and every man will do as you please."

"Why would I want to wear this?", Edea asked, looking sceptically at the juwellery in her hands. When she looked up again, the weird woman was gone. What was this about?, she thought in confusion, putting the necklace in her bag. Then she turned around with a shrug.

"Here you are." One hour later, Ringabel caught up to her. "Seems like I made it just in time for our rendezvous."

"Did you find one of the missing women?", she asked, ignoring his last comment.

"Unfortunately not."

"Maybe you were to busy sweet-talking to other women?" She looked at him expectantly.

"What are you talking about? Why would I do that, now that I finally got the chance to go out with the most beautiful-"

"You can stop that now", she cut him off. "I didn't trust that woman anyway."

"What woman?"

"The one who told me you were chasing skirts again. She gave me this-" Edea showed him the necklace, "-telling me to wear it. It is supposed to charm men around me or something."

"You don't need a necklace to charm me", he grinned. "In fact, the less you wear-"

"Shut it." She punched him against the upper arm. "Can we at least try to concentrate on the murder case? The strange woman I met before reminded me of DeRosa. Not because of her parfume, but because of what she said about charming people and turning them into weapons. If I am right, this necklace is supposed to work like the old, red man's parfume."

"Now women started to use his technique too?" Ringabel looked horrified. Edea sighed and meant to put on the necklace when he quickly jumped behind her and said: "Let me help you." He gently put her hair aside. The moment the necklace was closed around her neck, Edea felt like she was suffocated. Gasping for air, she reached for her throat, trying to get rid of the deadly jewellery. Then the world infront of her eyes turned red.

When she gained consciousness, she was kneeling on the ground, fighting for air. The necklace layed beside her, cut into pieces.

"What happened?", she asked and tried to stop her body from shaking violently.

"You ... wanted to murder me, I fear." Ringabel who was standing infront of her reached out one hand to help her up. She saw scratches on his arms and felt deeply sorry, even though she couldn't remember anything. "At least we know what happened to those killed men", she heard him say. "Their wives had to have the same necklace you got or any object being put under the same curse. They probably got them while being missing, and when they reappeared, they murdered their husbands without remembering it afterwards. What a tragedy. We need to find the person who gave the necklace to you." He locked eyes with her, looking concerned. "Are you well enough to search for her now?"

"Wait. You'll skip our date to search for another woman?", she tried to joke. "I did not expect that."

"I will get you to the most beautiful place in Florem", Ringabel murmured and leant his forehead against hers. His hands wandered down to her hips and he was so close that Edea thought she could hear his heartbeat through his blue jacket. "After we caught that shady jeweller. I promise." He lightly kissed her on the tip of her nose before taking one step back. Having been so close to him triggered something inside of her. Without giving it a second thought she shoved him against a brick wall that belonged to a house behind them. He gave her a surprised look but didn't object when she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

She enjoyed it even more than in the previous night, now that she got a feeling of what to do with her body, her lips, her hands. She discovered that wrapping her fingers in his hair, for example, instantly made him deepen the kiss, as well as gently biting down on his lower lip.

"Edea", he moaned against her mouth, eyes still closed. "We should stop for now. You make me ... forget myself."

"That's strange, coming from a person who once lost his memories", she smiled. Seeing what she was able to do to him filled her with confidence. At the same time it scared her how his presence alone made her throw herself at him, kiss him-

"I know." He carefully pulled away from her. Taking a deep breath, he continued: "As soon as we get the murderer, we'll have our date. And then I'm going to kiss you all night long, so let's better find the jeweller quickly."

"My mother always told me to avoid kisses on the first date."

"Then we start kissing after the date", he suggested and winked at her. She smiled back at him, then tried to clean her head in order to focus on their case.

"Do you remember the place where we found the secret passage to DeRosa's laboratory? That's where I met the weird woman who gave me the necklace."

"Coincidence?" He raised one eyebrow. "I'd be surprised if we didn't find her down there. Seems like someone continued his work."

"Probably", she nodded and followed him through the streets of Florem.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"How do you know about this place?" The blue-haired woman who had handed Edea the necklace hours ago turned around in surprise when Ringabel and Edea entered DeRosa's former laboratory.

"The question is: How do _you_ know about this place? Did you work for Fiore DeRosa?", Ringabel calmly asked while Edea was inspecting the room. It seemed that most of the devices were still being used, though she couldn't tell what they did exactly.

"Worked for him?" The strange woman laughed hysterically. "You could say that. I was one of the happy ladies he put under his spell. A charming man, I can't deny that. But what he did to me ... what he did to a lot of women is unforgiveable."

That's why she looked familiar, Edea thought. She must have been in the laboratory when the they defeated DeRosa. Most of his victoms had been unconcious, even when Edea and the others had left after the fight to get help for the women.

"If your ideals are so different from his, why are you still down here? What you did to the necklace is just like his parfume magic", Edea stated and crossed her arms.

"Who said I want to be different?", the woman answered. "He wanted me to become his tool. Now I'll be the weapon that turns against him, the hammer that crushes him into the ground."

"DeRosa's ... gone", Ringabel told her and gave Edea a look that said: This woman's truly crazy.

"He might be gone, but there are still other men around who are just like him. In fact, all men are the same. They think they're stronger, wrap us weak women around their fingers and throw us away when they don't need us anymore. But now the time has come. They will get the punishment they deserve. Florem will be freed from men's terror, no evidence of them will be left when I am done with them."

"That's why all the husbands were killed", Edea whispered and then raised her voice: "Don't you think you're overdoing it a bit? Just because one man disappointed you doesn't mean-"

"They're all the same", the woman shrieked. Ringabel cleared his throat: "No offense, miss, but you just have to wait. Even if it seems unlikely now, your prince will come around eventually and save you from this ... misery."

"Are you telling me I am desperate because I'm single? Do you believe us women need mento be happy? As I said before ... you all are the same. I will prove that Florem is better off without men. Why not start here?"

"Good job." Edea shot Ringabel an angry glare. "Now she's even crazier than before. Maybe your charming skills got a bit rusty over the time?"

"I didn't want to waste my charme on her", he grinned.

"Understandable", the blonde girl nodded. Both watched as the woman putting on several bracelets, earrings and necklaces. All of them must have been cursed - and wearing them turned the woman into an ugly monster that could be described best as a giant spider with a woman's face.

"No matter how romantic it is, I will never get you any jewellry from this day on", Ringabel promised, sounding disgusted.

"I didn't plan on wearing any, you know? I think I'm gonna have nightmares of Ouroboros wearing a tiara. Great."

"Watch out!" He knocked her aside to shield her from the spider's poisonous claws.

"Are you hurt?", she worried, but Ringabel shook his head.

"You know the Dark Knight's favourite saying? What doesn't kill us makes stronger. Much stronger." He reached for the sword at his side. Edea did the same. Even though she was in her casual clothes she still knew how to use the Swordmaster's skills.

The monster was incredibly ugly, but not very strong. Or maybe it was the perfect synergy betweeen Edea's and Ringabel's attacks that made them defeat the giant spider so quickly. When the fight was over the former woman vanished, leaving a pile of glowing jewellry behind.

"Case closed", Ringabel said and put up the rings and bracelets. "Let's take this as evidence."

"Can we tell the Matriarch that this crazy woman killed the men? Their wives may have been put under a spell to murder them, but they can't remember anything and I don't want them to feel guilty for what happened. The ugly spider here is the only black-listed creature we need to blame."

"Of course", Ringabel nodded. "The widows already are punished enough with their losses, there is no need to tell anybody how their husbands died."

"Good", Edea agreed. "Let's go see the Matriarch, then. And don't forget about our date."

"I wouldn't even need a diary to remember that."

An empty park, mostly illuminated by fireflies and a clear, starry sky above ... It was kind of romantic, Edea had to admit that. Curiously she followed Ringabel through the park until they reached a picnic rug that was filled with four desserts in different shapes and colors.

"Edea", Ringabel said, "may I present you the four Crystals of Sweetsendarc? In order to stop Vegetablos from destroying several worlds, you need to awaken them."

"How do I do that?", Edea giggled. "By eating them?"

"Exactly." She wondered how he managed to sound so serious.

"And where is the Pillar of Light?", she asked. When she got no answer she turned her gaze away from the desserts and looked at Ringabel instead.

"Don't you think the moonlight adds an unearthly glow to my hair? It shines like the Pillar of Light itself", he hummed. Edea choked.

"I really started to enjoy this. Until you broke the mood within seconds. I get the feeling you are truly bad at dating girls. Were the girls you went out with when we started our journey deaf or something?"

"Don't hurt me like this", he pouted. "I have some Pillar-of-Light-qualities, you know?"

"Like what?"

"I could take you to other dimensions when we-"

"I don't want to hear anything more of it", she complained and covered her ears. "Just take me back to the inn, perv. Date's over."

"What? No!", he objected. "Edea, please. You didn't even try one of the desserts. Forget about my last few sentences, they were stupid. But you liked the idea of Sweetsendarc and the Crystals, didn't you?"

"I did", she admitted and looked at him. It was true, his light blond hair looked great, but she would never tell him. He was the last person who needed a boost to his ego. His pleading expression was sort of cute, though she liked the look on his face he had had this afternoon better. The heated one. When she continued speaking, she realised that her throat had gone dry. "This date still has come to an end."

"Why? That's hardly fair", he protested. She shook her head. It wasn't a midnight picnic she wanted.

"It has ended-" She lowered her voice and let one hand wander over the soft, white fur of his collar, "-so that we can do this." Her lips went up to meet his, and his arms instantly wrapped themselves around her waist and pulled her closer.

"You know", he whispered against her lips before pressing his body even closer against hers, "this time we have no excuse to ever stop."

"Don't stop, then", she smiled and barely noticed that he carelessly kicked the desserts aside before guiding her down on the blanket. Kneeling over her, he lowered his body down to hers and started kissing her again, pressing her against the blanket underneath them. He didn't even try to be gentle this time; she felt a strange mixture of desperation, relieve and passion in the way he kissed her. Or maybe it was how she felt herself. How did she manage to reject him all this time? If she had known kissing him felt that great she surely would have changed her mind earlier.

She wrapped her fingers around his hair. Time to mess with the pompadour.


End file.
